Q:
Can't find shop who will replace timing belt on foreign car

asked by
Joshua H
on
June 02, 2016

My car has around 84,000 miles and I do regular maintenance, but I'm behind on replacing the timing belt. I researched and see it's to be changed between 100-120k miles and mine is past that by about 10k. The first auto shop I visited didn't have the 'proper tools' to do the job they said for a foreign car like mine, so I went to one that specializes in foreign cars. They also said they couldn't repair an '08 GTI. I searched online and the only one I found is too far away. I'm finding it VERY strange that I can't find someone to fix it! Since I can't find anyone to do what the manual says is 'Required,' then it must not be as important as it specifies to change it every 100-120k miles. I can't get to the town 200 miles away for another month. The car has been running fine, so should I rent a car since I'm scared of the belt breaking and then being in worse shape?

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Hello. It is very hard to say when a timing belt will break as some fail before the required mileage and some go way beyond the recommended period. Either way you need to have this done as soon as you can to avoid serious engine damage. You will more than likely be fine to continue driving it, but if you have the finances to do so, it is a good idea to rent a car in the meantime. If you want to avoid driving so far, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to your home or office to replace the timing belt.

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